4 ms·

Doesn't look serious. First pass: * Doesn't list a regulator, probably unlicensed money lender * Company about page is empty, no registered company addres

by ig1 13y ago

Doesn't look serious. First pass: * Doesn't list a regulator, probably unlicensed money lender * Company about page is empty, no registered company address or identity * No legal jurisdiction given. * No evidence on who the team is and what they're experience in loans are (legal, risk, etc.) * Empty T&C - probably means you don't even have lawyers, can't find lending contract anywhere on site, does one even exist ? And the list could go on. It's like launching Amazon without having any books or the logistics to handle ordering. There's also a decent chance the site as it exists (even if it's not currently processing loans) might violate the law (in a "Go to jail, do not pass Go" sense) depending on where it's operating from. This is the kind of business where you have to have a lawyer, because there's so many things going on which can have serious legal repercussions.

BitLendingClub 13y ago
Hi, Thanks for the constructive criticism, we are working to address all of our clients' and potential clients' concerns in a timely manner. First and foremost, I'd like to make a clarification: we're not a money lender, we only facilitate the lending. Lenders sign up on our website, fund their accounts with BTC and they decide who to lend to, at what interest rate and how much to fund loans for. BitLendingClub does not perform any funding itself. Bitcoin lending, and Bitcoin in general, don't fall under any particular state/country's regulatory jurisdiction. As such, it's not necessary for us to register with any regulators as long as we don't facilitate lending of some state currency, such as USD, EUR, GBP, etc. I live and operate this website from Chicago, IL, but based on the current statements from the government and since we only allow lending with Bitcoins, it doesn't seem like we have to comply with any specific lending regulations within Illinois or the states. I've updated the company page to include the corporate information: BitLendingClub is owned by Tanager, Inc registered in the State of Illinois in October 08, 2009. File number: 66992225 Name registered under: Kiril Gantchev Address registered under (residential): 217 N. Park Blvd. Streamwood, IL 60107 Please feel free to look up the corporate information at http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/CorporateLlcController http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/CorporateLlcController With regards to the team: people can find out about the team by visiting the About Us page (http://bitlendingclub.com/content/about-us http://bitlendingclub.com/content/about-us). The page lists the CEO (myelf) and the CTO of the company as well as links to our LinkedIn profiles. The LinkedIn profiles include our current employers and cities where we live/work. I live and work in Chicago, IL and a cursory search in google will confirm all of that information. Both of us are software developers, so we don't have particular experience in loans, but we hope that the key aspect we're going to resolve is providing the platform where people with experience in lending can conduct lending. The T&C is empty because we're still in Beta and we were more focused on the functionality rather than the content. We're working with our lawyer to draft a T&C prior to completing the Beta. Best Regards, Kiril Gantchev CEO of BitLendingClub
- ig1 13y ago
  You seriously need to get a lawyer, just because you're using bitcoin doesn't mean you don't fall under any jurisdiction. You are governed by your state and national laws. Financial laws don't just apply to money, they apply to a wide range of assets classes. Plus it's not just money lending laws you need to be concerned about, look at the action letter served by the SEC in 2008 against peer-to-peer lenders for serving as an alternative investment asset class without proper licensing. The same likely applies to you. Proper legal works will also protect you when one of your users sues you (which incidentally your insurance is unlikely to protect you against unless you negotiated a specialist deal) or the feds bust you when your service is used for money laundering (as has happened to other bitcoin financial services). You should be able to legally setup and operating a bitcoin lending platform, but you need to make sure the paperwork is in order. You probably need either a specialist lawyer in the founding team or at least someone with deep experience of the lending space who can guide you through the hurdles.

by ig1 13y ago

BitLendingClub 13y ago

Hi, Thanks for the constructive criticism, we are working to address all of our clients' and potential clients' concerns in a timely manner. First and foremost, I'd like to make a clarification: we're not a money lender, we only facilitate the lending. Lenders sign up on our website, fund their accounts with BTC and they decide who to lend to, at what interest rate and how much to fund loans for. BitLendingClub does not perform any funding itself. Bitcoin lending, and Bitcoin in general, don't fall under any particular state/country's regulatory jurisdiction. As such, it's not necessary for us to register with any regulators as long as we don't facilitate lending of some state currency, such as USD, EUR, GBP, etc. I live and operate this website from Chicago, IL, but based on the current statements from the government and since we only allow lending with Bitcoins, it doesn't seem like we have to comply with any specific lending regulations within Illinois or the states. I've updated the company page to include the corporate information: BitLendingClub is owned by Tanager, Inc registered in the State of Illinois in October 08, 2009. File number: 66992225 Name registered under: Kiril Gantchev Address registered under (residential): 217 N. Park Blvd. Streamwood, IL 60107 Please feel free to look up the corporate information at http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/CorporateLlcController http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/CorporateLlcController With regards to the team: people can find out about the team by visiting the About Us page (http://bitlendingclub.com/content/about-us http://bitlendingclub.com/content/about-us). The page lists the CEO (myelf) and the CTO of the company as well as links to our LinkedIn profiles. The LinkedIn profiles include our current employers and cities where we live/work. I live and work in Chicago, IL and a cursory search in google will confirm all of that information. Both of us are software developers, so we don't have particular experience in loans, but we hope that the key aspect we're going to resolve is providing the platform where people with experience in lending can conduct lending. The T&C is empty because we're still in Beta and we were more focused on the functionality rather than the content. We're working with our lawyer to draft a T&C prior to completing the Beta. Best Regards, Kiril Gantchev CEO of BitLendingClub

ig1 13y ago
You seriously need to get a lawyer, just because you're using bitcoin doesn't mean you don't fall under any jurisdiction. You are governed by your state and national laws. Financial laws don't just apply to money, they apply to a wide range of assets classes. Plus it's not just money lending laws you need to be concerned about, look at the action letter served by the SEC in 2008 against peer-to-peer lenders for serving as an alternative investment asset class without proper licensing. The same likely applies to you. Proper legal works will also protect you when one of your users sues you (which incidentally your insurance is unlikely to protect you against unless you negotiated a specialist deal) or the feds bust you when your service is used for money laundering (as has happened to other bitcoin financial services). You should be able to legally setup and operating a bitcoin lending platform, but you need to make sure the paperwork is in order. You probably need either a specialist lawyer in the founding team or at least someone with deep experience of the lending space who can guide you through the hurdles.